Knitting Update
This is actually the second FO from yesterday. First, I cranked out a purple & lavender boucle twisted drop stitch scarf for Hubby's stepsister's daughter's birthday. I had originally started something else for her, but it morphed into...well, I can't say what it morphed into b/c it became a gift for someone else, someone who reads my blog. I neglected to get a picture of the purple scarf. Oh, well. Anyhow, this is three strands of yarn, cranked out on US 11's. No idea the fiber content. It's a bit snug on the top of my head, but I've got a large melon, so I guess that makes it a women's medium.
Worked on some wrist treatments for Shannon's gloves today. She doesn't like ribbing, which poses a bit of a problem, eh?
Think I came up with an idea for Auntie's knit cotton lunchbag she requested. I was going to design something, but I pawed through some books a few different times and just didn't feel inspired. Soooo, I think I'm going to go with one of Zib's designs, Sparticle. I'll do the cotton one, but make it bigger b/c she wants it 9" x 9" big. I'll also do a different handle treatment b/c it's a lunchbag, not a shoulder bag purse. [Ohhhhh, Zib....Where have you gone, my friend? Did you accidentally fall into Etna when you sacrificed some virgin wool to make it stop erupting and messing up your DSL?]
There was a tiny bit of a mess with Shannon's gloves. See, she ended up deciding she couldn't really in good conscience spend so much money on herself right now, so she tried to return most of the yarn to the LYS a few days after buying it. Well, neither one of us had noticed that it said right on the receipt that they only did exchanges and store credit. For a knitter, this would be no problem. Shannon, however, had no use for credit at a LYS. Sooo, I ended up buying the yarn off her. I didn't feel so great about the expense myself -- this was supposed to be something to MAKE me some money, not COST me $40. Anyhow I ended up returning the yarn to the LYS and exchanging it for the Encore for Thing One's sweater. So, to make a long story longer (thank you, Pattydeo!), it ended up being OK b/c it wasn't breaking my stash-knitting vows b/c it was for a specifically-requested gift. And, of course, this sweater is my February resurrected UFO.
Again with the caveats. I bought this pattern to make for Thing Two's birthday (March 17th, buy your gifts now, folks!). Thing Two really likes it; it's the kind of sweater she'd live in. Well, I really didn't have appropriate yarn for it (i.e. worsted weight and blue). Soooo, I did some online research and ended up getting this for the body of the sweater and this for the pocket (and maybe the hood, too, if I can talk her into it). Even with shipping (I didn't pad my order to get to $45 to get the free shipping), it's a reasonable price, so I felt OK about it. AND it was MUCH less, I'm sure, than what I would have spent at Stitches. Only buy what you need. If you don't need it, don't buy it. PuhlEEZE! Define need, Hubby. This is me we're talking about here. I could easily have decided I needed 10 or 12 hanks of AllHemp6, a few cones of somethingorother, a shopping bag full of Karabella Aurora 8, and an equal amount of Silk Garden. Sheesh! Yupp, I think it's just as well for our budget that I didn't go to Stitches. Next time, I'll have to save up for it or something.
Oh, and as if I'm not pulled in enough different directions, last night I cast on for another Baby Surprise Jacket. The one for Mahalia was a bit smaller than specified (I cast on 100 sts, not 160), but this one is full-sized. It's for Leslie from church, whose baby shower is next Saturday. I'm not sure if I'm going; it depends mostly on how I'm doing emotionally at the end of the week, since she's having a boy. Anyhow, the yarn's a combo of some leftover petrobarf from that very first huge order, plus the last little bit of Jellie Beanz. Should be cute. Plus, Leslie had said she wanted to pay me to make some stuff for Baby Gabriel. Making a gift for her will help her decide if she wants to pay me or not (though, of course, I'd encourage her to buy better yarn than the Simply Soft I'm using in this).
